Editorial: Term limits on council? Not right for Los Gatos

We do not support term limits for the Los Gatos Town Council, which is why we were so pleased when the members of that body rejected the idea when it came up at their April 14 meeting.

Considering the number of candidates that have stepped forward to run for office in the last two council elections, the issue of term limits certainly seems irrelevant.

Back in 2010, only four candidates--incumbents Joe Pirzynski and Diane McNutt and challengers Steve Leonardis and Judy Glickman--joined the race to vie for the three open seats, and when two spots were available in the fall of 2012, there were only two names on the ballot: sitting Mayor Barbara Spector and Marcia Jensen. In fact, not since 2008 when four candidates--Spector, the incumbent, and challengers Peggy Dallas, Steve Rice and Michael Kane--were in the field has there been anything that even resembled a large field of council hopefuls.

It's certainly not like there has been a mad dash by local residents to grab seats on the dais. So to turn away capable council members who continue to be willing to serve the town just doesn't make sense. Turn them away to make way for whom? We think that the answer is really quite simple: The proposal was clearly directed at four-term Councilman Pirzynski as he considers whether or not he will run for a fifth term this November.

Mayor Leonardis suggested the idea of term limits, saying that the prospect of running against incumbents--and the expense of a campaign to unseat a sitting member--could be a deterrent to those who may otherwise be interested in joining the race.

Advertisement

Well, that certainly didn't stop him from running for office in 2010 when incumbents Pirzynski and McNutt were both on the ballot. And even if it had caused him reason for some concern, there was still an open seat up for grabs. That's been the case in most council races in recent history. Not since Pirzynski, McNutt and Mike Wasserman won re-election in 2006 have incumbents dominated the election field.

So if recent history shows that there has been ample opportunity for newcomers to pursue a council seat, and there has been no public outcry to institute such a plan in Los Gatos, then the question remains: What is the real reason for the push by Leonardis for term limits?

Right now we have two candidates who have announced that they will seek election in the fall--Leonardis and planning commissioner Marico Sayoc. McNutt has indicated that she will not seek another term, and Pirzynski has not yet made his decision public.

But if that decision is to seek a fifth term, why not? After all, there are three seats up for grabs and right now we have only two candidates. So if Pirzynski chooses to run again, he should be allowed to do just that, and not be disqualified by an arbitrary decision to institute term limits.

And hopefully others will join him in the upcoming race so that, unlike in 2012 when they had no choice at all, Los Gatos voters will have real choice in 2014.